Different Placement Practices for Different Families? Children's Adjustment in LGH Adoptive Families.

Pedro Alexandre Costa,Fiona Tasker,Isabel Pereira Leal

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.649853

Abstract

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of children placed with lesbian, gay, and heterosexual adopters, and to examine children’s problem behaviors and positive psychosocial adjustment across the three family types.BackgroundThere is evidence that children with hard-to-place profiles may be more likely to be matched with lesbian and gay parents. In addition, children adopted from care face greater developmental difficulties than children raised by their birth families, although adoptive parents may buffer the negative effects of early adversity on their children’s psychosocial adjustment.MethodA final sample of 149 adoptive families from across the United Kingdom was recruited: 71 heterosexual parented, 39 lesbian parented, and 39 gay parented.ResultsThe results showed that gay and lesbian parents were more likely than heterosexual parents to be matched with hard-to-place children, partially because they were more open to being matched with children with hard-to-place profiles. However, no differences among the three family types on children’s psychosocial adjustment were found, when controlling for children’s early adversity.ConclusionAdopted children displayed similar levels of problem behaviors and positive adjustment in lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parented families. Early adversity and having a physical problem/disability accounted for much of the variance in problem behaviors whereas parenting did not. In contrast, it was suggested that parenting processes, namely, parental closeness, may help to explain children’s positive adjustment.

Highlights

There is some evidence that lesbian and gay parents disproportionally adopt children with different arrays of difficulties – or hard-to-place children – due to discriminatory practices in the adoption process (Brooks and Goldberg, 2001; Brodzinsky, 2011)
While there is evidence that children adopted from public care may present higher rates of problem behaviors than children living with their birth families (Miller et al, 2000; Howard et al, 2004; Grotevant and McDermott, 2014), adoption is advantageous in promoting child positive adjustment and general well-being when compared to alternatives such as fostering or institutional care (e.g., Triseliotis, 2002; Juffer and Van IJzendoorn, 2009)
The purpose of this study was to (1) examine whether lesbian and gay parents were more likely than heterosexual parents to adopt hard-to-place children, and if any differences in placement were associated with parents’ own preferences, and (2) examine adopted children’s profiles and its association with problem behaviors and positive psychosocial adjustment

Summary

Introduction

There is some evidence that lesbian and gay parents disproportionally adopt children with different arrays of difficulties – or hard-to-place children – due to discriminatory practices in the adoption process (Brooks and Goldberg, 2001; Brodzinsky, 2011). Specific to adoptive lesbian and gay parented families, greater attention to family processes within these families and its effects on children’s psychosocial adjustment and well-being are needed (Farr et al, 2020), as these may differ from those in heterosexual parented families due to, for example, differential placement practices. Children adopted from care face greater developmental difficulties than children raised by their birth families, adoptive parents may buffer the negative effects of early adversity on their children’s psychosocial adjustment

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Discussion

Conclusion